Cedevita marches over ALBA for premier Top 16 win

Cedevita Zagreb led from start to finish to keep its chances of advancing to the next stage of the 7DAYS EuroCup alive with 99-83 win over visiting ALBA Berlin. It was first win in the Top 16 for Cedevita, as both teams now hold 1-3 records in Group H, but ALBA holds a tie-break advantage due to its 17-point win in Round 3. Miro Bilan had 20 points for the winners, Ra’Shad James netted 19, Ryan Boatright scored 14, and Luka Babic finished with 13 points and a career-high 9 assists for Cedevita. Elmedin Kikanovic led five ALBA scorers in double digits with 18 points. Peyton Siva scored 13, Dragan Milosavljevic had 12, and Niels Giffey added 11 in defeat.

Three-pointers from Babic and James opened an 11-2 lead after only three minutes. Milosavljevic and Siva each scored from long range for ALBA, but James and Boatright combined to score 14 of Cedevita’s next 16 points, including a three-pointers that helped the hosts build a 12-point lead. Cedevita led 27-17 after 10 minutes, before baskets from Filip Kruslin, Karlo Zganec and Bilan opened a 34-19 margin early in the second stanza. ALBA kept in touch through Giffey, Kikanovic and Milosavljevic, but Babic and John Shurna hit three-pointers for the hosts and with help from James and Boatright, Cedevita increased the margin to 50-34 at halftime. Marko Arapovic scored three baskets to extend it to 62-38 in the third. Milosavljevic and Bogdan Radosavljevic helped ALBA cut into deficit, and Giffey hit from long range to make it 74-58 at the end of third. The same player made it 74-64 early in the fourth, however, Bilan’s three-point play and Shurna’s triple kept Cedevita with a double-digit lead. Engin Atsur hit a three, and Giffey converted on a fast break to make it 84-75, but the visitors never got closer than that. In the final minutes, Cedevita tried to catch the 17-point margin, but ALBA held on to win tiebreaker.